Blogs

The latest in Grant Scott's podcast series In search of Bill Jay is now available to listen online or through your normal podcast channels. The series extends and adds to Grant's acclaimed film which looks at Jay's life and legacy. 

Listen to the latest part and the earlier podcasts in the series click here: 

Part 4 - https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2022/06/23/in-search-of-bill-jay-episode-4-the-sixties-end-and-the-future-is-bright/
Part 3 - https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2022/05/16/podcast-in-search-of-bill-jay-episode-3-tony-ray-jones-diane-arbus-and-weegee-in-nyc/
Part 2 - https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2022/03/31/podcast-in-search-of-bill-jay-episode-2-a-grammar-school-boy-holland-park-parties-and-tony-ray-jones/
Part 1 - https://unitednationsofphotography.com/2022/03/17/podcast-in-search-of-bill-jay-episode-1-the-search-begins-it-was-a-snap-shot-magazine/

To view the film Do Not Bed: The photographic life of Bill Jay click here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wd47549knOU

I am organizing a conference entitled "Camera-Centered Histories of Photography," which will feature our own Dr Michael Pritchard as the keynote speaker.  The call for papers is attached. I would be delighted to see abstracts covering British photo history topics. Abstracts are due by 31 July.

Here's the call as a PDF: Camera conference CFP -- full text pasted below

Call for Papers

Camera-Centered Histories of Photography

Held online and at the California Museum of Photography (UCR), Riverside, CA

Friday December 2, 2022

Abstracts due July 31, 2022

What does our understanding of photographic technology tell us about photography? Scholars often frame the study of cameras through a media archaeology lens, such as Peter Buse’s examination of the Polaroid archives to contemplate what it contributes to our understanding of the ubiquitous instant photograph, or Jonathan Crary, whose examination of the “observer” in Victorian viewing evinces questions about modernity. Yet others neglect the role of the camera outright. This is not a disingenuous move; many photographers resent people asking about the device they use, because the question implies that the equipment, not the eye and mind, provided the skill. Photography’s relationship to its technology is equal parts intrinsic and fraught.

This one-day conference interrogates what photo history looks like when we foreground the technology that made the images. We invite scholars and artists to address the place of the camera in photographic histories. Themes may include (but are not limited to):

-The relationship between the camera and image

-The place of digital image-making in relation to technology-centric concerns

-Case studies that foreground the camera with regard to a specific photographer/image-maker

-Social histories that foreground photographic technologies

-Media archaeology approaches to cameras and photographic technology

-Business, legal, or advertising histories about camera manufacturers

-The role of patents in the advancement of photographic technologies

-Design histories relating to cameras

 The conference will be held as a hybrid live event, on-site at the California Museum of Photography (Riverside, California) and livecast via Zoom. Papers can be presented in-person or online.

 The conference will include a keynote address by Dr Michael Pritchard, author of A History of Photography in Fifty Cameras (2014) and a tour of the Larry S. Pierce American field camera collection by collector Larry Pierce.

 Please submit abstracts of approximately 350 words for 20-minute presentations to Leigh Gleason, Director of Collections (California Museum of Photography/UCR ARTS) at leigh.gleason@ucr.edu

Orphan Works are creative works that are subject to copyright for which one or more of the rights holders is either unknown or cannot be found. Understanding how Orphan Works in relation to photographic collections can be a bit of a minefield. To help you navigate we are running a virtual event with Margaret Haig from the government's Intellectual Property Office, on Wednesday 6th July, 1pm via Zoom.

The talk will cover important things you need to know in relation to working with Orphan Work images; how you can use them, how to seek out licenses and more.

To help you make the most of this session we would like you to submit any questions for the event beforehand via this form: https://forms.gle/Zey1eqg8kXm2WriJ6 Please note that Margaret will not be able to answer questions on specific legal disputes, and we cannot guarantee to be able to answer all questions. However, if you do send your questions ahead of the event we can research these to give you the best possible answers.

Booking is free, with the option of a donation to support PCN's work. You will receive a confirmation email when you book, and the event link will be sent to you on the day of the event.

Orphan works and photography collections
Hosted by the Photographic Collections Network with the IPO
Online: 6 July 2022 at 1300 (BST)
Details and booking here: https://www.photocollections.org.uk/events/orphan-works-and-photo-collections

For the first time, an exhibition focuses on the photographs of the earliest local photographers from West and Central Africa. Since the late 19th century, they have been creating enchanting photographs together with their customers in open-air studios. The thought of future viewers was always present; for them, the people in front of the camera staged themselves in the way they wanted posterity to see them. The photographs are thus sharply differentiated from the images of colonial photographers, who served to confirm a backward, exotic other.

Using around one hundred original prints, the exhibition addresses the most important themes in the history of photography in West and Central Africa. The focus is on the peculiarities of this photo culture and the interrelationships with other local art forms.

"The Future is Blinking" is a quote by the Ghanaian photographer Philip Kwame Apagya (*1958) from the film Future Remembrance by Tobias Wendl (1997). Apagya thus refers to what he considers the most important task of photography in Ghana: creating memories for future generations with idealized portraits.

"The Future is Blinking" Early studio photography from West and Central Africa
Museum Rietberg
Gablerstrasse 15
CH-8002 Zurich
Switzerland: until 3 July 2022
Details: https://rietberg.ch/ausstellungen/the_future_is_blinking

Photographer John S Webb is British but has lived in Sweden since 1974.  In September the Omnibus Theatre, London, will show work that he made in 1972 in Stonhouse Street, Clapham, London. The exhibition will consist of the same images that he exhibited in the then Clapham Public Library in 1972. The photographs are to be shown in the same building which has changed from a library to theatre.

The work also exists as a book published in 2019 and a short film about it can be seen here: https://youtu.be/R-LWASZhIJg

Stonhouse Street 1972
Omnibus Theatre
1 Clapham Common Northside, London, SW4
6 September-2 October 2022
See: https://www.omnibus-clapham.org/

My new book is" The magic of Photo City". This book contains 13 articles on the history of photography and has been published in Persian in Iran by Kalhor Publications.

Photomonitor has published a short article by Annebella Pollen on the British porytrait photographer Carole Cutner who was active from 1968. She specialised in portraits of children, but also photographed royalty and figures from industry and business. She continues to work and is currently reviewing her archive. 

Read the piece here: https://photomonitor.co.uk/essay/extended-family-carole-cutners-photographic-life/

Auctioneers Bearnes Hampton & Littlewood of Exeter are offering the The photographic archive of Sir Harold Dudley Clayton, 10th Baronet of Clayton, Marden (1877-1951) over multiple lots in its Maritime auction on 21 June 2022.  The lots include glass plate negatives, albums and prints from the 1890s to later 1930s, and show racing, sailing and naval vessels. 

As a boat designer and builder Harold Clayton opened a yard on the site near the Charles Cooper boatyard on the shingle beneath Penarth Head, south of the Marine Hotel. As a keen photographer he also took numerous images of various boats and locations whilst attending regattas and other notable events. 

Maritime Sale
Tuesday, 21st June 2022
Okehampton Street, Exeter

Details here: https://www.bhandl.co.uk/sales/MA0021-westcountry-maritime-auction.aspx

This symposium celebrates the work of James Ravilious and Chris Chapman and marks 50 years since Ravilious and Chapman started their photographic careers in Devon. Speakers include Chapman, Ella Ravilious, Val Williams, Mark Haworth-Booth and Tessa Traegar.

Royal Albert Memorial Museum & Art Gallery
Exeter
1000-1700
https://rammuseum.org.uk/
Registration here: https://beaford.org/symposium

In the context of the University Art Association of Canada's 2022 conference, which will be taking place at the University of Toronto from October 27th to 29th, we invite contributions to the following in-person panel. The deadline for submission is June 30th.

Science Museum Group (SMG) is here to inspire futures and our Collection Services department underpin the care and management of our unique objects. Within Collection Services, the Photography team provide a professional, technical, and creative service making digital content for a diverse range of clients and stakeholders within SMG.

We are now looking for a Photographer to join us and establish a professional photography studio and service at the National Collections Centre (NCC) in Wroughton. This role is a permanent contract, working 35 hours per week.

Details and applications here

John Rylands Research Institute and Library has published Dr Christine Slobogin's blog posted titled Anonymous Anatomies: A Critical History of Visual Anonymity in Britain and America, 1870 – 1955 which was based in part on the John Rylands holdings. The blog and Dr Slobogin's research examines anonymity in medical imagery. 

Read it here: https://rylandscollections.com/2022/06/14/anonymous-anatomies-a-critical-history-of-visual-anonymity-in-britain-and-america-1870-1955/

Mike Wells is looking for a run of Weekly Illustrated magazine to consult for 1943 as part of research he is undertaking in to Jimmy Jarché.  In addition he is interested to know of anyone who may have a list of his assignments during the 1940s. Jarché's book People I Have Shot is too early for this, dating from the mid-1930s.

Please add comment below or email direct: mikewells@compuserve.com

A new photography festival Photo Frome is offering an extensive series of exhibitions, talks, workshops and other events. Two events that will be of particular interest to those interested in photographic history.

On 11 July David Lassman and Mick Yartes discuss Alice Seeley Harris who was a Frome resident. It will discuss the work of Alice Seeley, later Lady Harris. In collaboration with Frome Heritage Museum, which is featuring her in their Celebrated Women of Frome exhibition. Alice’s photography shocked the world in the early 1900s with her pictures of human rights abuses in the Belgian Congo, which led to King Leopold’s withdrawal, though her enduring legacy is not without controversy. (contains images which some might find disturbing). 

On 24 June Robin Ravilious will talk about her late husband James Ravilious, the internationally renowned  photographer who spent over 17 years in rural North Devon recording in intimate and affectionate detail the land, its people, their work, and their everyday lives. James started this work in 1972; more than 70,000 images later, his Beaford Archive work had become what the Royal Photographic Society called ‘a unique body of work, unparalleled at least in this country for its scale and quality‘. Robin will discuss James’s life (he died in 1999), his dedicated approach to his work, and the many influences that inspired him.

See full details and book here: https://photofrome.org/talks/

Image: James Ravilious © Beaford Arts digitally scanned !om a Beaford Archive negative. Courtesy The Beaford Archive

The Photographers’ Gallery has launched the Soho Photography Quarter (SPQ), a permanent new outdoor cultural space, presenting the very best of contemporary photography, for free. Offering dynamic new ways to discover the photographic medium, Soho Photography Quarter follows the refurbishment of Ramillies Place, which has transformed a previously overlooked alley into a beautifully designed, pedestrianised space and offers an inspiring gateway to Soho. The launch of the space extends The Photographers’ Gallery’s acclaimed exhibitions programme beyond the walls of the building and completes the development of its site in Soho as a centre of Photography.

A tranquil and accessible cultural space only seconds from Oxford Street, Soho Photography Quarter will present a rotating, open-air programme of site-specific and interactive artworks, which will change twice a year. The presentations will feature a significant art frieze in the main square, large-scale over street banners, plus moving image projections, soundscapes and other interactive works depending on the project.

Alongside the changing artworks, the Gallery will present a rich and engaging programme of activities and resources. From live events, artist talks and presentations, to short films, sound installations and specially commissioned AR projects, accessibility to the ideas and inspirations behind the projects will be a key part of SPQ’s offer.

The opening presentation for Soho Photography Quarter, Being Human Human Being, comprises a large-scale, site-specific installation of works - including a large-scale art frieze, cross street banners, soundscapes and projections - by the acclaimed Indigenous Australian contemporary artist, Dr. Christian Thompson AO, presented in partnership with Photo Australia / PHOTO 2022 International Festival of Photography, Melbourne. The Being Human Human Being installation is also one of the highlights of UK/Australia Season 2021-22, the largest ever cultural exchange between the two nations presented jointly by the Australian Government and the British Council.

Brett Rogers, Director, The Photographers’ Gallery, says: “Soho Photography Quarter (SPQ) represents the realisation of a long-awaited vision to transform the public area outside The Photographers' Gallery into a welcoming, prominent cultural and social destination for people to encounter extraordinary images for free. Photography is one of our foremost and most accessible cultural forms, so being able to showcase the very best of what’s being created in this field for everyone to enjoy feels like a really valuable addition to the cultural offer in the West End. SPQ will present a wide range of work from world-class photographers, extending the Gallery’s passion and commitment to the medium beyond the Gallery walls and engaging new audiences, who might not otherwise experience it. We will also offer free events, talks and other activities in the space to enhance visitor experience and bring the works to life.”

The restoration of the grave of one of the great names of photography, Alvin Langdon Coburn (1882-1966) has been completed. A call for support was made in 2021 and the project has been led by Brian Iddon. In addition to private donations, the Universal Order, which was bequeathed Coburn's copyrights also supported the restoration. The grave is at Llandrillo-yn-Rhos, north Wales.

It is hoped that a public event will be held and an indication of support for this can be made to brianiddon53@gmail.com. 

Bradford's National Science and Media Museum is recruit for three curatorial positions: Head Curator, Curator of Photography and Photographic Technology and an Assistant Curator. 

As Head Curator you will play a pivotal leadership role in National Science and Media Museum’s senior leadership team, contributing to strategic planning and decision-making across all areas. You will lead the Curatorial and Archives team to ensure work is delivered in line with museum priorities and to shape the museum’s narrative through exhibitions, events and public programmes, increasing physical and intellectual access to the collections.

As well as developing our historic collections, you will champion our ambitions to research and collect more contemporary materials, working collaboratively with key academic and industrial partners, particularly in areas such as the digital and creative industries. Details:  https://bit.ly/3NVdY2C Deadline - 07/07/2022

 As the Curator of Photography and Photographic Technology you will take a leading role on championing and raising the profile of our world class collections of photography and photographic technology.

This is a highly collaborative role which will involve working alongside other specialist Archivists and Curators and fostering links with internal and external stakeholders in photography and photographic technology communities. Working closely with the masterplan team, exhibitions team and digital content teams you will develop the content and interpretation for our new permanent galleries, Sound & Vision, as well as our temporary exhibition programme. Details: https://bit.ly/3znZowx Deadline – 03/07/2022

 As Assistant Curator, you will critically engage with our core collection areas of photography, photographic technology, film, television, broadcasting and sound, supporting access to our objects, archives and resources. In this role, you will field enquiries, facilitate research access and public engagement. You will be leading collection tours, as well as assisting the Curatorial team and volunteers to research, utilise and manage the collections.

You will also actively find ways to engage with our audiences by showcasing and celebrating our world-class collections of image and sound technologies. This might involve writing blogs about objects and the stories behind them or creating content for websites and other digital platforms to aid the promotion of activities at the museum.Details: https://bit.ly/3mtnyhw Deadline - 29/06/2022

Dr Geoff Belknap, Head Curator at the National Science and Media Museum, Bradford, will be joining the National Museums Scotland as as Keeper of Science & Technology in September.  Geoff joined the NSMM in 2016 as Curator of Photography and Photographic Technology. He was appointed Head Curator in 2018. 

Photo: Twitter / https://twitter.com/sjmm_alberti/status/1534807407813173248

The Royal Photographic Society’s Historical Group was formed on 22 March 1972 at a time when photography in Britain was undergoing a significant transition. The RPS, itself, was in a process of modernisation as it sought to remain relevant to British photography. The way photography was taught in higher education reflected a move away from the technical to a focus on approach and the content of the picture. New galleries showing photography were established, national museums and galleries began to take photography seriously and the Arts Council appointed its first photography officer.

The period also saw major upheavals for the industry and the profession with recessions, a move to digital, and new ways for commissioners to source content. The way photography was experienced, shared and disseminated changed dramatically later in the period with the advent of new digital technologies.

This conference will examine some of these changes through a series of papers that look at British photography and photographers over the fifty years from 1972-2022.

British Photography since 1972: a conference
Organised by the RPS Historical Group to commemorative its 50th anniversary
1-2 July 2022
Bristol and online
Programme and booking: https://rps.org/1972conf

On April 8th, Poster House opened an exhibition featuring a portion of Dwight Cleveland's extensive vintage poster and lobby card collection. The collection focuses on all Underrepresented groups that are only now receiving the celebration they deserve. This exhibition highlights films where Women, in particular, played a significant role behind the camera during the silent film era. For more information on poster images see Dwight's book on https://cinemaonpaper.com/.  

This special exhibition will be up at Poster House in New York City through October 9, 2022: